John Gebhardt: Remaking a local memorial to fallen veterans

Monday

May 27, 2013 at 12:01 AM

It is an undeniable fact that with time we age. So do the people and the things around us. One of our deepest held and cherished veteran memorials at Kanapaha Park needs to be renewed and needs to be conceptually refreshed to welcome and honor the current war veterans in Alachua County.

By John GebhardtSpecial to The Sun

It is an undeniable fact that with time we age. So do the people and the things around us. One of our deepest held and cherished veterans memorials at Kanapaha Park needs to be renewed and needs to be conceptually refreshed to welcome and honor the current war veterans in Alachua County.The Alachua County Veterans Memorial Committee — comprised of community leaders who care about America, Florida and our community — has decided to rebuild the current war memorial. It's a most difficult decision, as we hold that the veterans memorial is more then rock, tile and stone but forged from the loyalty and blood of patriots.With this in mind, good citizens have found consensus with the greater veteran community to reduce the “walk in time” concept so as to provide space for a current war memorial. This reduction in the walk will require smaller stones and tile to be cut to memorialize the wars and residents who have died in those wars. The same current “carbon footprint” will provide 80 more years of life to the site to honor future war veterans, while we hope and pray it will not be needed.Many veterans want to make sure the current war memorial stones are cherished and honored for future generations or honorably destroyed (as we do our used flags). These are important considerations. It is important that the names engraved on the stones remain cherished and honored. They have given their all so that we might live in a free society, and we need to remain ever vigilant to recognize their gift to us. Ideally these hallowed stones will be presented in another location, and the new stones will hold their honored names for all of us to cherish at the renovated Kanapaha Veterans Memorial.Before the Veterans Memorial Committee touches a rock, a tile or a stone, we want to hear from our most patriotic community to make sure nothing is missed. This is a tough task, we approach it carefully, but it is only right to honor those who come next while we continue to honor those who came before us. The funds are in place and donated from patriots who love America and those who serve.John Gebhardt is a veterans advocate at Santa Fe College and the University of Florida. He is past chairman of the Alachua County Veterans Memorial Committee.

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